Creamer leads Hawks to second straight state championship

SWEEP: The Hendricken hockey team swept La Salle with 5-4 and 3-1 victories to capture the state championship.

(Warwick Beacon photos by Matt Metcalf)

ELUDING DEFENDERS: Pat Creamer possesses the puck in the corner during the first period of Game 1.

(Warwick Beacon photos by Matt Metcalf)

FAMILY EFFORT: Hendricken head coach Jim Creamer poses for a photo with his son Pat Creamer.

(Warwick Beacon photos by Matt Metcalf)

LOOKING UP: Matt Rickard was rock solid for the Hawks on defense in the title series.

(Warwick Beacon photos by Matt Metcalf)

PUCK MOVEMENT: Peter Krekorian moves the puck ahead to an open forward.

(Warwick Beacon photos by Matt Metcalf)

INSURANCE GOAL: Andrew Hopgood celebrates his empty-net goal.

(Warwick Beacon photos by Matt Metcalf)

ATTACKING: Hendricken’s Dan Cavanagh tries to cut to the middle of the ice against La Salle defenseman Matthew Murphy during Game 2.

(Warwick Beacon photos by Matt Metcalf)

Hendricken seniors Pat Creamer (10) and Michael Shaw (6) celebrate with goaltender Patrick Gribbin after the final buzzer on Saturday.

(Warwick Beacon photos by Matt Metcalf)

Posted
Tuesday, March 14, 2017 9:39 am

By Matt Metcalf

The Hendricken-La Salle hockey state title series was even more entertaining than anticipated over the weekend.

When all was said and done, the Hawks completed their sweep of the Rams behind a pair of game-winning goals from the state’s leading scorer, Pat Creamer, giving Hendricken its second consecutive championship.

It certainly wasn’t easy. Until the final buzzer, La Salle was just a goal away from getting back in the series.

On Friday night, a back-and-forth game ended up going into double overtime.

Ultimately, Creamer gave Hendricken a 1-0 series lead when he buried a rebound off a Matt Rickard shot on a man advantage to send the Hawks home with a 5-4 victory.

On Saturday evening, the Hawks took a 1-0 edge into the third period, before La Salle’s Matt Ernster capitalized on a turnover, finishing a chance all alone in front.

But, Creamer once again had the answer 23 seconds later.

Andrew Hopgood drove towards the net with a defender on him, and he was able to leave the puck behind him to a wide open Creamer, who deked and slid a shot by La Salle sophomore netminder Justin Spencer to push the Hawks back out in front for good.

The Rams pulled Spencer looking for the equalizer in the final minute, but Hopgood got loose late and potted an empty-netter to seal the victory.

“It was just a total team effort,” Creamer, who was named the series MVP for the second year in a row, said following the Game 2 victory. “I put the goals in, but we have a great goalie. Pat (Gribbin) stopped a penalty shot. Andrew (Hopgood) and Mike (DiMascolo) have been playing well all year. Our third line contributed. Our second line played great, and our D were shut down all game.”

First-period goals from DiMascolo and Jax Zaroogian in Game 1 got the Hawks out to a quick start in the series, but Logan Liljeberg took advantage of a Hendricken defensive zone turnover to get the Rams on the board before the period was up.

Rams’ captain Drew Edwards then netted the game-tying goal early in the second period when he buried a loose puck in the crease on the power play.

And, after Hendricken responded with goals from Creamer and Matt Dumond in the middle of the second period, Edwards struck once again with 24 seconds remaining in the second frame when he redirected a shot past Gribbin to trim La Salle’s deficit to one, 4-3, after two periods.

Ernster had the lone tally in the third period to tie the game at 4 and force overtime.

In the first overtime, Edwards nearly completed his hat trick when he rang iron on the power play after Hendricken defenseman Jacob Paolino was sent to the box for tripping.

La Salle had plenty of chances on that man advantage, but Rickard and Creamer blocked shot after shot. Rickard looked like he was in some discomfort after blocking one of the shots, but he was able to muster enough strength to force a turnover and clear, which drew a loud roar from the Hendricken crowd.

“Patrick Gribbin did a great job in net,” Hendricken head coach Jim Creamer said. “He had great composure.”

However, Ernster would get a shot by Gribbin early in the third period to tie the game at 1 briefly.

But, Pat Creamer’s eventual game-winner 23 seconds later sent the Hawks to the peak of Rhode Island high school hockey once again.

“They’re a great group of kids and their work ethic is tremendous,” Jim Creamer said of his team. “We got better as the year went on. Our senior class is super solid, they’re good kids and good players. They’re all special. This is a good one.”

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